Posted by Trisha on August 15, 2014

Readers worldwide fell in love with Australian novelist Graeme Simsion's debut, The Rosie Project, when it was published last fall. A sparkling romantic comedy, the book charted the love affair between a rule-following genetics professor and an unconventional young woman.

Those looking for a similarly heartwarming and hilarious book, read on!

Though Simsion never states it explicitly, it seems obvious that Don is somewhere on the autism spectrum. Those who enjoyed the resulting narrative voice should pick up The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which is told from the point of view of a 15-year-old boy, Christopher, who is an autistic savant and a math genius. His story of solving the murder of his neighbor's dog, Wellington, tickles both the funny bone and the heart.

If the "opposites attract" trope was the thrill for you, don't miss Delicacy. This French bestseller, which became a movie starring Audrey Tatou, follows a beautiful young widow's unconventional path to love with her oddball coworker, Markus.

A scientific-minded soul also stars in Moriarty's 2012 release—but this time, it's a woman. A hypnotherapist, Ellen is 35 and tired of dead-end relationships. When she meets Patrick, everything feels right, until she learns that his ex, Saskia, is stalking him. But even that doesn't put Ellen off; as someone who works in the darker corners of people's minds, she becomes fascinated by Saskia. Little does she know that Saskia is already including Ellen in her surveilance.

So you say that Simsion's healthy dose of humor floated your boat: How about trying SNL writer Simon Rich's What in God's Name? This good-natured satire follows an angel tasked with getting two fumbling 20-somethings together, and finding the road to happiness much rockier than he anticipated.

Science and romance also collide in Netzer's quirky second novel. George and Irene are soul mates—their parents ensured it by having them be born at the same time and place. But they're also, as our reviewer succinctly describes it, "weirdos." But can astrophysicist Irene, who doesn't really believe in love, ever really fit in with diehard romantic George? Readers will have fun finding out.

A quirky cast and a high-concept plot also power the second adult novel from YA writer Rowell. TV writer Georgie has made a decision that just might be the end of her troubled marriage—and then she discovers a way to get through to the man she married. The actual man she married, that is: The phone dials through time nearly 20 years to let Georgie talk to the college-aged Neal she fell in love with. Will this be a way back to happiness for Georgie? Or will it end her relationship once and for all?

What books would you recommend to a Rosie Project fan? Tell us in the comments!

Posted by Trisha on November 06, 2013

Southern novelist John Pritchard returns this month with the third installment in his Delta-set Junior Ray Saga, following 2008's Yazoo Blues. This time out, Junior Ray Loveblood (with his sidekick Voyd Mudd) is tracking an unlikely group of murderers: The Aunty Belles, a secret-but-deadly organization of otherwise prim and proper Southern ladies.

Pritchard's distinctive vernacular writing style is on full display in Sailing to Alluvium, and Junior Ray and Voyd haven't reined in their gleeful vulgarity. Check out this excerpt for a taste:

I wouldna never thought for a minute nothin like what I'm about to pass on to you could ever have happened. On the other hand, I am not surprised by none of it. And when people ast me when all this I'mo tell you about went on . . . I just say it's all more like up-around now than it was, but it was before the time I talked my first book. In other words I had not yet become a R-thur.

Posted by Hilli on October 15, 2013

Jhumpa Lahiri is back with her second novel, The Lowland. Her debut, The Namesake, earned her plenty of critical praise, and expectations for The Lowland have been quite high. Lahiri has more than met those with this "intricately plotted, melancholy family drama" that has since been shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize.

The novel follows two brothers, Subhash and Udayan Mitra, as they grow to lead two very different lives and encounter conflict that drives a wedge between them. A story spanning decades and two continents, The Lowland explores the power of family and memory with Lahiri's "elegant, gently understated prose."

Watch the trailer below and learn more about this Top Pick for October!

Posted by Trisha on September 24, 2013

Remember back when we said that this fall was one of the biggest ever? Well, that is especially true for fiction. Here are our favorite books from among the dozens going on sale today–click on the title to read our review. Which one are you most looking forward to reading?

Cartwheel by Jennifer DuBois (Dial). This second novel from a promising new talent is loosely based on the story of Amanda Knox. When a young exchange student is murdered, her roommate falls under suspicion. Is Lily Hayes guilty?

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (S&S). The sequel to The Shining is here! And good news: It lives up to the legacy. Dan Torrance's continued adventures involve creepy supernatural crew called the True Knot, who travel around the country trying to find—and kill—children with "the shine."

Local Souls by Allan Gurganus (Liveright). The author of The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All makes a return to fiction with this collection of three linked novellas that are set in Falls, North Carolina, the mythical town he's made his own.

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri (Knopf). The Pulitzer Prize-winning author returns to longform fiction with a second novel that tells the story of two very different brothers.

The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent (Little, Brown). Known for her historicals set in 17th century New England, Kent branches out into Texas territory in her new novel, which stars a down-on-her-luck woman of fortune.

Posted by Trisha on September 23, 2013

Marlen Suyapa Bodden was working at the Legal Aid Society in New York when she stumbled upon the story that would turn her from a lawyer to a novelist. She first published The Wedding Gift herself, but intense reader interest led to it being picked up by St. Martin's Press, who will re-release the novel next week. In a guest post, Bodden shares the inspiration for her compelling debut.

In 1999, I was reading a nonfiction book on runaway slaves and came across a few lines and an endnote about an Antebellum divorce case from the Circuit Court in Talladega, Alabama (the city’s lovely courthouse, built in 1836 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is still in use and is the oldest working courthouse in the U.S.). A slaveholding man sued his bride for divorce because the child she gave birth to was not his. The court ruled in his favor and granted him all the property his wife brought to the marriage, including a young slave woman, who was a wedding gift from her father.

The fact that a person was given to another as if she were china or a tea service is shocking to our 21st-century minds, but what I learned while researching slavery, historical and modern, is that dehumanization is the chief tool that slave owners have used throughout time to control people and keep them enslaved. It was common for wealthy Antebellum slave owners to give their daughters maids as wedding presents, so the brides would have familiar faces in their new homes.

Though the Talladega case captured my imagination, I did not begin drafting The Wedding Gift until 2003, when another real-life story shocked me into action. A social worker at a women’s homeless shelter in New York City contacted me about a resident of the shelter who wanted to sue her former employers for unpaid wages. I found out that she had been brought from an Asian country to New York as a slave, and eventually escaped with the help of police. It occurred to me then that, like most people, I had thought slavery was in the past—but there I was, looking into the eyes of a former slave.

When I started writing The Wedding Gift, I was not predisposed to write a novel that cast White people as villains and Black people as heroes. As a novelist and reader, I think characters who are either complete demons or saints are boring. Sarah Campbell, the young slave who is given to her half-sister as a wedding present, is a heroine, but she is not perfect. Similarly, Theodora, wife of master Cornelius Allen, may be kind to Sarah, but she remains a slave owner. Even Cornelius, the villain of the novel, engages in acts of kindness, although he is motivated by keeping his slaves in good health so they can reproduce.

I first went to Alabama in 1997 to work on a civil rights case (I am also a lawyer) and since then have traveled throughout the state, including Talladega, Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile. The people of Alabama, of all races, have Southern charm and could not have been kinder to me. In The Wedding Guest, I hope to have done their complicated history justice—and to have given voice not only to the more than 27 million slaves of today but also to my own ancestors who, beginning in the 16th century, were kidnapped from Africa and enslaved in the New World.

Thanks, Marlen! For more on The Wedding Gift, on sale September 24, visit her website.

Posted by Trisha on September 10, 2013

Remember back when we said that this fall was one of the biggest ever? Well, that is especially true for fiction. Here are our favorite books from among the dozens going on sale today–click on the title to read our review. Which one are you most looking forward to reading?

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (Little, Brown). As a teenager, Australian Kent went on an exchange to Iceland and discovered the story of Agnes, a servant woman who was executed for murder in the 1820s—the last person, in fact, to be executed in Iceland.

Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem (Doubleday). An intimate family saga about three generations of all-American radicals. With satire and sympathy, this novel weaves across time and among characters.

Enon by Paul Harding (Random House). After his 12-year-old daughter dies in a senseless accident, a man must deal with his grief and find a way to carry on.

Someone by Alice McDermott (FSG). The National Book Award winner returns with an impressionistic, vivid story of the moments that make up a life.

Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford (Ballantine). The author of the bestseller Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet sets his second novel in 1920s and 1930s Seattle, where a lonely young boy looks for the mother he longs for.

Subtle Bodies by Norman Rush (Knopf). A group of college friends reunites decades years after graduation in Rush's first book to be set in the U.S.

To keep up-to-date on the release dates for all the major new releases, subscribe to our Most Anticipated Releases calendar. And look for a new Super Tuesday post every Tuesday in September!

Posted by Trisha on September 03, 2013

Remember back when we said that this fall was one of the biggest ever? Well, that is especially true for fiction. Here are our favorite books from among the dozens going on sale today–click on the title to read our review. Which one are you most looking forward to reading?

Duplex by Kathryn Davis (Graywolf). Davis is a weird and wonderful writer, and her new book takes place in a mysterious duplex that is on the cusp of reality and imagination.

Let Him Go by Larry Watson (Milkweed). When a young boy is caught between two warring families, can anything but tragedy result? Watson returns to the West with a powerful story of love and loyalty.

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood (Doubleday). Atwood concludes her MaddAddam trilogy with the story of Zeb, who originally appeared as one of “God’s Gardeners” in Oryx & Crake and became a key member of the resistance in The Year of the Flood.

The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell (Little, Brown). Set in his hometown, the book was inspired by a 1926 dancehall tragedy whose true cause remains a mystery—and whose legacy still haunts the small town today. Was it an accident, or something more sinister? Woodrell is the perfect author to take on this small-town American story.

Moonrise by Cassandra King (Maiden Lane Press). A modern-day retelling of the classic novel Rebecca, King's powerful latest is set on a beautiful estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where love, jealousy and ghosts combine.

The Women Who Lost Her Soul by Bob Shacochis (Grove). Award-winning journalist Shacochis spins another gripping, suspenseful tale of occupied Haiti in his new novel, which finds lawyer Tom Harrington attempting to unravel the murder of a beautiful journalist.

Shaman by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit). The best-selling author of the Mars trilogy and 2312 has written a powerful coming-of-age story, set nearly 30,000 years in the past. Sure to appeal to fans of Robinson's futuristic work as well as fans of Clan of the Cave Bear.

To keep up-to-date on the release dates for all the major new releases, subscribe to our Most Anticipated Releases calendar. And look for a new Super Tuesday post every Tuesday in September!

Posted by Trisha on August 09, 2013

Every author finds their calling—and their material—differently. Sarah Bruni, whose first novel, The Night Gwen Stacy Died, was published just last month, shares her path to publication in a guest blog post. Perhaps it's not surprising that such a fresh and unusual story—which blends the Spider-Man mythology with the story of two unconventional loners—didn't present itself in a normal way!

I didn’t set out to write a novel at all. If I had I known from the start that’s what I was doing, I probably would have approached the task very differently. I began writing a collection of short stories set in Chicago in 2006. In one of them, a lonely young woman working in an Iowa gas station, eager for escape, allowed herself to be kidnapped by a gun-wielding taxi driver who called himself Peter Parker. Making a pact to rob her gas station and drive to Chicago in his stolen taxi, these two outcasts were my collection’s only characters who behaved so oddly: borrowing identities from comic books, acting out on the fringes of society. I didn’t know what to make of them; neither did my readers.

"Writing short fiction, I was always anxious to get into a new character’s headspace each time I finished a story. Working as a novelist taught me a particular kind of patience."

It took a few years of readers advising me that the story didn’t feel completely contained within the collection—and that it “wanted” to be much longer—for me to finally decide to expand it into novel. At the time I was still mostly interested in the compact worlds of short stories, and I was completely uncertain how to approach this task. I continued to treat the work as a short story writer might, crafting mostly self-contained sections from each protagonist’s perspective before chopping up those sections into chapters to see how those fragmented perspectives could react and respond to one another, how they might create a sense of forward motion through their juxtaposition. I’ve been told since that the novel feels carefully plotted (sometimes even to its detriment) which always comes as a surprise to me. I was unequipped with the novelist’s tools and knew nothing of outlines. It was late in the drafting process that I began to feel like an insider to the sense of that momentum I was creating.

The thing that’s struck me most about the novelist’s task this first time through is the incredible sense of commitment that it requires to spend so much time in a single created world. Writing short fiction, I was always anxious to get into a new character’s headspace each time I finished a story. Working as a novelist taught me a particular kind of patience. It was sometimes a challenge to stay committed to these characters I had first encountered nearly seven years ago, to continue to find new ways to move with them through their experiences. But being a long and imperfect form, a novel allows opportunities for digression and experimentation that are different from those available in shorter fiction. I was surprised by how much my characters were able to change and develop with me as a writer, how their behaviors shifted along with my interests—that’s in some way what made me stick with them for so long.

Thanks, Sarah! For more on The Night Gwen Stacy Died, visit Sarah's website or follow her on Twitter.

Posted by Julia on July 31, 2013

Called Again: A Story of Love and Triumph by Jennifer Pharr DavisBeaufort Books • $24.95 • ISBN 9780825306938
published June 10, 2013

Did you know that today is the anniversary of a significant hiking event? The overall speed record for hiking the entire 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail was set on this date in 2011 by Jennifer Pharr Davis, who completed the trail in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes. I’m aware of the anniversary because I followed along for several weeks. No, I didn't hike with her, but I was able to track her progress through the fascinating daily blog posts of her husband, Brew Davis.

As a fan of Becoming Odyssa, her memoir of first hiking the AT after college, I was thrilled when I learned that Davis had written a new book, Called Again: A Story of Love and Triumph, about her recent record-breaking experience. Certain to entertain readers—fellow hikers or not—this is a story of perseverance and grit, love, dedication and sacrifice. It’s not so much about being the fastest AT hiker ever, as about taking on a challenge, consistently doing your best and allowing yourself to rely on other people to help you along the way.

Readers feeling unsure of themselves or frustrated by societal pressures regarding what they should look like, act like and/or focus on would benefit from reading Davis’ story, which offers plenty of inspiration for becoming a better "me."

"I mean, how does hiking the Appalachian Trail in a short amount of time positively impact anyone? But Anne made me realize that being a role model isn’t about inspiring other people to be like you; it is about helping them to be the fullest version of themselves. The main legacy of this endeavor would not be to encourage others to set a record on the Appalachian Trail, but to encourage them to be the best form of their truest selves. And it just so happened that my best form was a hiker."

And here’s what she says about the media coverage of her feat:

"No one seemed interested in what I'd learned or what the most valuable part of the experience had been. Instead, everyone wanted to talk about how I averaged 46.93 miles per day. . . . Why didn't anyone ask about the notions of living in the present or choosing something purposeful and fulfilling over something fun and easy? Or the idea that persistence and consistency can be more valuable than speed or strength? . . . Why did no one realize that the most miraculous part of the summer was not the record, but how well my husband had loved me?!"

In between is the story of Davis hiking, how her husband and countless others provided support during her quest and the literal ups and downs of the trail over 46 relentless days.

If you’ve read Wild, the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed, you know it is about much more than just hiking. Such is Davis’ story, too. The white blaze and rolling mountains on the cover will pull you in, and by the time you reach the end of the trail atop Springer Mountain, you’ll be wondering how you, too, can find your best self.

Next week, I'll be hiking in the Tetons with my husband, and, having read Called Again, I know that I'll be a "better me" while I'm there. What book(s) have inspired you to become a better version of yourself?

Posted by Morgan on July 17, 2013

Marcus Sakey's new supernatural thriller, Brilliance, lives up to its name. From the very start, this first novel in a projected series is full of action and intrigue. Since the 198os, about 1% of American children are born "brilliant" with a special gift—they're also known as abnorms. Some of these aborms can be a problem, and it is Nick Cooper's job as a government agent to catch the bad ones—as his own abnormal gift is to hunt his own kind. Can Cooper stop all of the bad abnorms from hurting people, and how does he tell the good guys from the bad?

In the opening chapter, Cooper has spent the day tracking an abnorm and finally catches up with her in a hotel bar in San Antonio, Texas:

Cooper took a sip of coffee. It was burned and watery. "You hear there was another bombing? Philadelphia this time. I was listening to the radio on the way in. Talk radio, some redneck. He said a war was coming. Told us to open our eyes."

Cooper shrugged, took another sip of his coffee. "Fewer than some other places. The same percentage are born here, but they tend to move to more liberal areas with larger population density. Greater tolerance, and more chance to be with their own kind. There are gifted in Texas, but you'll find more per capita in Los Angeles or New York." He paused. "Or Boston."

Alex Vasquez's fingers went white around her bottle of Bud. She'd been slouching before, the lousy posture of a programmer who spent whole days plugged in, but now she straightened. For a long moment she stared straight ahead. "You're not a cop."

Through some twisted ups and downs, the fast-paced Brilliance has all of the best with manipulation, revolution and social commentary in a world disturbingly close to our own. In an interview, author Marcus Sakey said that he hates for his plots to be revealed, so I will stop there and simply say be ready to stay up all night with this one.

Will you be reading Brilliance? What are you reading during Private Eye July?